New Jersey Devils finally lose after eight straight wins, 2-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning
One of the important games of Friday was played as Tampa Bay Lightning played host to the New Jersey Devils at the St. Pete Times Forum.
The second placed team in the Eastern Conference, Tampa Bay Lightning was looking to come up with a win and near the leaders ,Philadelphia Flyers, while the Devils were looking to continue their surge of making it into the play-offs.
The first period was pretty much even as both teams ended the period goalless. The Lightning two goals in the second period in response to which the Devils could score only one goal.
Resultantly, the Lightning won the game 2-1. Vincent Lecavalier, centre of the Lightning was named the star of the game for his regular involvement in constructing plays.
A slow start to the game was observed as both teams didn’t want the opposition to score early.
The teams were reluctant to go on the attacks which meant that there weren’t as many shots on goal and plays as expected from the two teams.
The Devils were in hot form recently but the Lightning defence was able to cope up with the pressure very well.
The period saw things opening up a little as the period neared its end with both teams starting to go out in search of a goal. Shots on goal started to increase as the period neared its end but none of these shots found the back of the net.
It looked as if a goal would surely be scored but this didn’t happen as the period ended with the scores deadlocked on 0-0. During the course of the period, the Devils made seven goal attempts while the Lightning made eight goal attempts.
The second period started off with the Lightning on top right from the start of the proceedings. They attacked and displayed some excellent shooting and passing abilities right from the word go.
The Lightning was able to score as early as the third minute through Martin St. Louis from a quick fired shot to get in the lead.
Scoring the goal didn’t slow the Lightning; in fact their attacks became stronger. This resulted in the Lightning scoring once again in the 4th minute to double their lead.
The goal was scored by Simon Gagne after which the period was all about the Lightning who dominated the game.
However, they weren’t any further goals scored during the period as the Lightning led 2-0 going into the break. During the course of the period, the Lightning made 15 goal attempts while the Devils made 5 shots on goal.
The final period of the period was more like the first period of the game. The Devils scored in the 9th minute through Mark Fayne from a powerful strike to cut the lead to a single goal.
The Devils moved in hope of making a comeback but unfortunately this didn’t happen.
The period and the game ended with the Lightning winning the game 2-1 in the end.
During the final 20 minutes of play, the Devils made 8 goal attempts while the Lightning made 7 goal attempts.
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